The Harbinger of Miracles

Chapter Thirty-One

"I'm in," Crow whispers into his transmitter, his voice barely a breath. The cold freezes his sweat the further he steps into the room. It had once been an aquarium, but now repurposed into a laboratory. He approaches the large glass pane, his breath misting the surface. Rows of survivors lie strapped to metal tables, their bodies slack under the influence of some drug. Aphrodisiacs, tranquillizers—it doesn't matter. Their vacant eyes, their numb limbs—they are prisoners, just like everyone else here.

Crow stares at the scene, jaws tightening. A familiar sight in a different timeline, Alias never changes.

"To your left," Teresa's voice glitches through the earpiece.

Crow slides silently past the rows of machines. The lab is a maze of chrome and glass, many stark surfaces reflecting the flicker of the bright overhead lights. Instruments gleam in neat lines on the counters. Beakers bubble with murky fluids. Screens blink with streams of data, unreadable but constant, like the final blips of a dying heart.

At the far end of the room stands a glass cell, separate from the rest. Inside, he spots them—Eli and his classmates, huddled together. Pale. Terrified—But alive. A warm simmer churns in his guts, and Crow winces. "Stop feeling chummy."

Hurry.

"I'm going," He mutters, snatching a notepad from the counter, waiting for the scientists to drift far enough away. Once the coast is clear, he slips over to the glass prison, tapping lightly on the panel beside the door. Eli's head snaps up, and their eyes lock. Crow doesn't know what he sees when he looks at him—perhaps a stranger, maybe something worse. But Eli's expression softens.

Crow leans closer to the glass, his voice barely audible. "Stay quiet. I'm getting you out of here."

Eli blinks; he can't hear. Crow had forgotten, but a flash of understanding crosses Eli's face. He nods, wordlessly.

"Get back." Crow orders, his fingers flying across the console, working to unlock the cells.

Eli scurries over to Orion, whispering. The other children listen with numbed senses like lifeless dolls, the drugs in their veins making them more compliant. Orion freezes, glancing back at the tall stranger. His blackened eyes, hollow with suffocating darkness, grip his spine, but he swallows his fear and scurries forth, his face pale. "Wait—Renji. We can't leave him."

Crow hesitates, his eyes flicking over to the other side of the room, where Renji, along with the others, are strapped to bars. Renji's skin is pallid, and there are dark marks where needles have been plunged into his veins. He isn't moving much—just a sluggish, weak tremble.

I can't risk everything for someone who's already halfway gone.

"I don't know if I can help him," Crow says, his voice flat, colder than he intended. He glances back at the console, hand moving faster. I can't get them all out—not without risking Anaki's life, my life. Orion's hand grabs his sleeve, and Crow meets the boy's gaze. There's something fierce in those wide, desperate eyes. A fire that won't let go. "If you don't help me get him out, I'll do it myself."

Crow clenches his jaw, eyes narrowing. Another burden. Another brat thinking he can save everyone.

He's stubborn.

Crow lets out a slow breath, glancing at Renji. There isn't time for this. But something about Orion's unwavering stare makes Crow hesitate.

"Fine," He curses, glaring down at Eli and Orion. "Get the other brats ready." He strides towards the other prison cell. He hides himself behind a pole, disabling the locks, but just as his finger hovers over the last button, Renji mumbles. "They are watching," His head sways to the side, grunting to look upright, vision a blur. "We can't escape—"